TSMC sales see 1.8-percent drop in May, still riding high

TAIPEI -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC台積電) said Tuesday that its consolidated sales for May dropped 1.8 percent from the previous month, but still represented the company's second-highest single-month figure.

TSMC's consolidated sales for April reached a new high of NT$61.887 billion thanks to strong smartphone sales that pushed up demand for chips.

TSMC, which has taken the lead over its peers in the 28 nanometer technology process, is benefitting from the uptrend.

Although sales in May failed to continue the upward trend, its consolidated sales maintained a high level of NT$60.789 billion, down 1.8 percent from last month and an increase of 17.4 percent from the same month of last year.

In an investor conference held in mid-April, TSMC said it expects its consolidated sales for the April-June period to range between NT$180 billion and NT$183 billion.

Institutional investors estimated that the world's largest chip maker will have no problem achieving the target, given that the combined sales in April and May reached NT$122.676 billion.

If sales of TSMC in June can reach NT$57.324 billion, the goal will be easily met and set a new high in quarterly performance, according to the investors.

TSMC is optimistic about better performance with each quarter, on the back of increased shipments of products using the more advanced 20nm technology.